Trapped Like Rats
by bluelily3
Summary: Morgana won the fight against Duckthulu. She trapped him in Oblivion. But what she didn't account for was that she'd be stuck with Negaduck. With no way out. And way too much time on his hands. Story takes place after "F.O.W.L Disposition" and before "Dangerous Currency".


"Remember Dark...you are the terror that flaps in the night. Never apologize for who you are. Be better. Be bolder. See you...on the other side…"

"Wait, what? Morga…"

His voice faded and she barely heard the last part of her name. "Ana" was only two sounds, ripped away from her. His voice. The confusion and fear in it. She wasn't sure if she would ever hear it again. But it was all worth it if he was safe. Gosalyn, Launchpad. His family had become her family. She had always had family, but for the first time in her life, she really felt like she belonged. He loved her. And she would do anything for that love.

She had no idea where her body was going to end up. All she knew what that she was taking this monstrosity with her. Somewhere empty. She concentrated on just that. The emptiness. Even as she thought of a vast wasteland, the city of St. Canard kept creeping into her mind. _No. Not St. Canard. I will not endanger Dark's city. Come on, magic. Don't fail me…_ She fought through the pain of her body being ripped from her own dimension. She could hear Duckthulu roaring. Opening her eyes, she could see him far below her. The creature was falling, thrashing about for something to sink its claws into. Then she was falling too. She felt it before she could properly see it. Water. Cold, dark and heavy. She surfaced quickly, gasping for air. Her dress weighed her down, and she kicked her legs with all her might. The water tried to suck her back in, and she could feel the monster rising to the surface. His claws reached out for her. A part of her wanted to give up and sink. _You're stuck here anyway, right? You can't go back. And this creature will probably just kill you. Dark and the others are safe. That's all that matters. This water, it's so cold, so deep. It will wash everything away. Just let go. Let yourself sink…_ She shook her head, her aura clouded. The dark thoughts weren't her own. Sure, she'd had her bad days, but she'd never wanted to just give up before. Despair was something she only flirted with. It never set up camp. Which meant...she was not alone here.

After she pulled away from Duckthulu's thrashing, she swam for shore. Everything around her was in a thick mist; she guessed it was the early hours of the morning. All she could see was the outline of a bridge. It was hard to think over the shrieks of the creature, but something about all this looked familiar. _No. Please no. Not St. Canard. I wanted a wasteland. Somewhere where no one would believe in Duckthulu. This won't work if there is a whole city…_ She almost sobbed. Her plan had failed. She dragged herself to the shore, sputtering. Her hair had come undone and it floated around her like seaweed. Pushing a thick clump of it out of her eyes, she let herself look around. Behind her, Duckthulu screamed out obscenities, but his power was very weak here, almost gone. He wouldn't last.

Morgana lay on the sand for a moment or two, resting. The spell had nearly drained her, and she was surprised that she'd even made it to the shore. But she had to leave soon. Duckthulu's powers were almost gone, but he could still harm her if she stayed. She was just starting to pick herself up when she saw him. Silhouetted against the rising sun. The larger- than- life fedora. The cape flapping in the slight breeze. He was stepping off the docks, making his way towards her.

"Dark?" She whispered. For one moment her heart fluttered in her chest. _This is impossible. How did he come with me? I let him go before I released the spell. He can't be here. He needs to be home with his family. Gosalyn can't lose both of us._

"Dark, how are you…?" Then she felt his aura like a slap in the face. There were some traces of Drake Mallard there, but most of it was tainted by darkness. A writhing, restless darkness. Feeling him out was like letting a venomous spider crawl up your leg. She shivered.

"Negaduck…" She whispered. As he made his way toward her, she suddenly felt very vulnerable laying on the sand. She tried to get up, but her body was weak. She kept crawling on her own hair. _This is marvelous._ She thought sarcastically. _What a time to be weakened. And now I'm stuck here. With the darkest version of the love of my life. Just great…_

"Morgana? What the hell are you doing here? And what the _hell_ is _that?"_

Negaduck stood transfixed by the sight before him. He'd heard a god-awful roar, and of course, headed toward the sound. He'd been trapped in this empty city for three months, all alone. He hated being alone. Sure, it was actually quite liberating at first. He got to destroy whatever he wanted. But when he was the only one to see the flames, hear the broken glass, it lost its luster. He needed people to see what he was doing. He needed the screams of terror. Running, hiding. Otherwise, it was just buildings blowing up. Which was still cool. But not nearly as satisfying. So when he heard that ear-splitting bellow, he'd jumped up like a shot. _Finally_ , something to do!

Now he just stood on the sand, his eyes on the bay. Towering above them was one of the biggest monsters he'd ever seen. It looked like something from out of a book he'd read once. What was it again? Lovecraft? It had been one of his favorites as a kid. It started coming toward them, and the earth trembled violently. He was more curious than afraid. With Morgana, anything was possible. But this still felt like something he would make up just to entertain himself.

"Don't look at it!" Morgana yelled.

"What? Are you _insane?_ That thing is _huge!_ "

"Oh, just shut up and do it!"

"Listen, I don't know how the hell you got here, or what's going on but I'm not... " She startled him by turning to him, looking him fully in the eye. Her hands went to his shoulders. He wanted to brush her off, (he hated being touched) but something in her tone warned that this needed to be taken seriously.

"It's Duckthulu."

"You've got to be kidding me! You mean like in that book?"

"Exactly. But remember? He was a deity. He needed to be worshipped. So, if we just walk away, turn our back on him…"

"I gotcha. Ignore the god, and nobody will believe in him anymore?"

"Right!" Morgana nodded, her eyes flashing with understanding. She looked…well….nice. He hadn't seen another face for three months, and if he was really honest with himself, he was tired of being alone.

"Well, alright then. Follow me." He turned around. He could hear the deep, trembling voice of the god behind him.

"You _dare_ turn your backs on me? I am Duckthulu! Mighty and powerful! Harken to my voice!" Negaduck looked over his shoulder. Morgana was limping after him. He watched her for a moment. Her hair was down. A flash went through his mind, something he hadn't thought about in a long time. Gana. His own Nega-Morgana. They had been...something...once. He stopped, letting her catch up. Then he craned his neck up at the monster.

"Yeah? A god, huh?" He yelled. "Well, I never believed in gods. You're on your own, pal." Morgana almost smiled at him. He could see her fighting it. He looked enough like Darkwing to remind her… He couldn't tell if he liked that idea or not. The creature gave a shriek, and it felt like a needle piercing his brain. He fell to the sand, pushing his palms into his ears. Morgana fell down as well. Her hair pooled around her. There was so much of it. Just like Gana's. Without thinking, he crawled over to her.

"What's happening now?" He yelled above the shrieking.

"I'm not sure!" She yelled back. "He should just disintegrate, or maybe go back to his...wherever he came from?"

"Gee...that's comforting!" He replied darkly. Morgana just shook her head, sadness in her eyes. _Why is she even here? And where is Dorkwing? Those two were hardly seen without each other these days._ He had the sneaking suspicion that they were going to get married soon or some such nonsense. He already thought of her as Darkwing's woman in his mind. And now he was stuck with her in this wasteland. _This could get very interesting…_ He stood up again, then starting running toward the city. The creature kept screaming, and it was enough to drive him mad. After a few minutes of it, he found himself screaming as well. He ducked around the corner of a building, catching his breath. He'd been here for months with nothing but silence. Now all this noise was a sensory overload. When the noise finally stopped, he looked down at the bay. The monster was splitting apart. Its body crumbling like ash. Morgana lay on the sand. She was motionless. Maybe she'd passed out. She looked like a beached mermaid. His stomach clenched. He'd never seen her so helpless before. There was something in him that respected Morgana Macawber. She was a fighter. Even though she was on the side of good, she understood people like him, having been on his side before. She was sympathetic. It would come in handy later. He smiled to himself, then walked briskly back to the bay.

The first thing that Morgana sensed was that Duckthulu was gone. The second thing she sensed was Negaduck. And he was very close by. Unbearably so. She was laying down on something. She tried to push herself up, but her head was pounding. Her nostrils twitched, smelling something that resembled food. She was somewhere dark and hidden. It felt cramped. Especially when she saw him. Mere feet away. His back was turned, and she heard a scraping sound. _Oh, gods. Is he...cooking?_ In all her life, she never thought she would be stuck in a hovel somewhere, eating food almost literally out of Negaduck's hand.

"Hn. You're finally awake, huh?"

"If you could call that." She replied darkly.

"Heh, heh. Well…" He turned to her. "Let's get a couple of things straight, Morgy-baby. I've made this city my own over the past few months. My city. My rules. And unless you wanna go the way that creature went out in the bay, I suggest you follow them." His eyes glittered. Morgana didn't bat an eye.

"I'm not afraid of you, Negaduck. I never have been." Her voice was calm. He shrugged, then sighed.

"Yeah. I thought so." Then he turned towards her again, holding out a pot. "Beans?"

Morgana almost laughed. It was true, she wasn't afraid of Negaduck. Because no matter how evil he was, he still had Dark's candor and humor in him somewhere. And it shone out all over the place. This was going to get very interesting.


End file.
